Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Hace dos años que estudio español con la misma profesora. - I have been studying Spanish with the same teacher for two years.

In this construction hacer is an impersonal time verb; it does not mean “to make.” When you say Hace dos años que + [present tense], you’re marking how long an action has been going on. So Hace dos años que estudio español literally means “It makes two years that I study Spanish,” i.e. “I have been studying Spanish for two years.”

Can I say Estudio español hace dos años instead?

Spanish usually prefers one of these two patterns:
• Hace dos años que estudio español…
• Estudio español desde hace dos años…
Dropping desde and placing hacer after the verb (as in Estudio español hace dos años) is heard in very casual speech but isn’t considered standard.

Why is estudio in the present tense rather than a perfect form like he estado estudiando?

With Hace…que Spanish uses the simple present to express an action that began in the past and continues now. It’s equivalent to English “I have been studying…,” even though Spanish doesn’t always need the present perfect progressive. You could say He estado estudiando español por dos años, but with Hace dos años que…, the present tense is correct and most idiomatic.

What other ways are there to say “I have been studying Spanish for two years with the same teacher”?